Sunday Night Prayer Blog

I was bad today and skipped church. I stayed at home and watched Dr Ed Young of Houston's Second Baptist Church, and Joel Osteen of Houston's Lakewood Church.

Dr Young preached about raising up a Godly daughter. Apparently last week he spoke about bringing up a Godly son... I'll have to go check out the archives since Monica and I just found out recently that we're having a boy.

Dr Young's sermon was good. One of the key notes was that to raise up a Godly child you can't just take them to church and send them to a Christian school and expect that they'll follow the Lord and live a Godly life. You've got to live an unplugged life. Dr Young says to unplug the TV. Unplug the internet. And, there's got to be quality time with Dad. A Dad's got to be present to be effective. He can't be off working all the time. A Dad needs to be there. A Dad needs to listen. And a Dad needs to do things with his son or daughter. I'm concerned about my schedule after the baby's born I absolutely must come up with a more manageable work week.

That will be at the top of my prayer list for this week. Of course, I've needed some sanity in my schedule for years now. But I've absolutely got to vahnge my life in order to be the kind of dad I believe God's called me to be. Having a baby is certainly a life changing experience. And I'm sure that my life is in for more changes than I can even imagine right now.

Joel Osteen's message was good today.. His theme was about making life changes through 'being determined' and using one's will-power to overcome adversity. Joel was encouraging as usual, and very motivating to me.

Here are some highlighted quotes: "Don't focus on where you are right now, focus on where you're going...! (J.O.

And another good Joel quote was: "It doesn't how many times you get knocked down. It matters that you get up...!" (J.O.) God sees your resolve. God sees your determination.

"The enemy might get you down, but he can't keep you down."

Joel tells us to stay determined. He asks How strong is your will...? He says Keep on Keeping on...!

Well that's me. I'm going to Keep on Keeping on... With God's help, I can do anything.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I repent of my sins. I ask you to dwell in my heart always and be my forever friend. Lord, You have blessed me so abundantly. I just thank you and praise you, Lord Jesus.

Father God, Thank You for Arno and Judy who model good and loving parents. I want to be the best parent I can be and am constantly looking for role models. Lord, keep showing me. My heart is open and my mind is alert.

I need help with managing my schedule Lord. I've been thinking about slowing down. I've been writing about slowing down. But I haven't managed to actually pull it off, yet. Help me to prioritize. Help me to prune. Help me to say no.

Divine Master, I know that with your help I can do anything. I trust You, Lord. I want to live in victory in You. Jesus, I know that you'll answer this prayer. Thank You Lord. You are such an awesome God. I love You, Lord. I give this day to you, my King.

In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN...!